About those batteries...

by Simone Wilson

During World War II, a soldier shot at what
he thought was a submarine periscope that turned out to be a
cormorant

From the Civil War
to the Cold War, the U.S. military burrowed into the cliffs
and hillsides of the Marin Headlands, installing the latest in firepower to
protect the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Now that the U.S. coast is
defended by missiles, the fortifications are obsolete and the guns have
been hauled away. But the bunkers and gun emplacements remain, relics of
outmoded warfare, and visitors can scramble over the gun sites and get a
sense of history along with world-class views of the bay.

Starting in the 1850's, the Army dug into the cliffs on both sides of the
Golden Gate, setting up a crossfire to prevent marauders from entering the
bay. On the north side, Battery Kirby could fire cannonballs to puncture
any ship foolish enough to venture near the bay. Later fortifications on
the Marin side included Battery Spencer overlooking the bridge, as well as
Batteries Rathbone-McIndoe and Wallace on Bonita Cove.

By the 1890's the army built massive concrete emplacements like ones at
Battery Mendell near Point Bonita, installing steel guns with range of
eight miles. With World War I came the threat of aerial attack, and the
army dug deeper into the hillsides to shield long-range rifles from
bombardment.

Battery Townsley (visible from the Coastal Trail), was built between 1939
and 1943; its 16-inchers had a range of 27 miles. During World War II, the
guns were primed but only one shot was fired, when a soldier shot at what
he thought was the scope of a submarine. The periscope turned out to be a
cormorant, which indignantly flew away.

After World War II, Cold Warriors installed surface-to-air NIKE missiles
designed to reach an altitude of 50,000 to 200,000 feet. At Battery Bravo
above Rodeo Lagoon you can see the missiles' metal tracks and an obsolete
missile or two in the parking lot.

Most of the headlands habitat is coastal scrub, but stately cypresses mark
the bunkers and tunnels. Marin Headlands may be the only parks where the
trees were planted as camouflage.

For a comprehensive history with historical photos and oral histories,
read "Headlands -- The Marin Coast at the Golden Gate" by Miles DeCoster and
several co-authors, published in 1989 by University of New Mexico Press.